In its official endorsing statement of Question 3 (energy choice), the Clark County Education Association recently declared, “Nevadans know that monopolies … don’t work for consumers,” and that the only ones supportive of them are those who “stand to benefit” (Tuesday Review-Journal, “CCEA endorses energy initiative”).

It’s refreshing to see the teacher union embrace the economic reality that free markets and competition serve consumers better than a monopoly. Now it’s time to apply that same mindset to education.

For more than 30 years, the one-size-fits-all monopoly education system has failed Nevadans, despite record tax hikes and a near tripling in inflation-adjusted, per-pupil funding.

Thankfully, by injecting competition and market forces into the state’s education system, choice programs such as Education Savings Accounts and Opportunity Scholarships promise a better way forward. Such options offer underserved students an escape from the floundering K-12 monopoly, so they are not forced to wait indefinitely for their local schools to improve.

Despite enjoying broad support from Nevada voters, these programs are fiercely opposed by the teacher unions who, as the CCEA so astutely observed, “stand to benefit” from protecting the existing monopoly system.

So the next time you hear a member of Nevada’s failing education system oppose choice, you’d be wise to borrow from the CCEA’s statement for an effective rebuttal.

Daniel Honchariw joined the Nevada Policy Research Institute in May 2016. He focuses mostly on fiscal and education (school choice) issues, and has also published extensively on the abuses of civil asset forfeiture. His work has been featured and/or cited by in-state and national publications including USA Today, The New Yorker, Reason, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Prior to joining, Daniel had been a lifelong California resident. His experience includes stints with the National Labor Relations Board, multiple financial services firms, and a Tahoe-based ski resort. He is a sports fanatic, political junkie, and chess enthusiast.

Daniel holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University (’09) and an M.P.A. in Public Management from California State University, Dominguez Hills (’14).